The Noble Path to a Compassionate Workplace

It is so important to be inspired. We once in a while look at how to
use an ancient framework to inspire us to look at our daily task in a
different way.

The Gautama Buddha was a sage that taught the principles of the Noble
Eightfold Path as one of the Four Noble Truths. The basic idea of the
Truths is that we are constantly suffering on earth and that we can only
become free from suffering if we do some things. Being action oriented
seems to be high on the priority of this sage as he dictated 8 actions
or paths that can liberate us. These are contextualised to the workplace
of today below.

The first idea is that each of these tasks on the path can be
perfected – so you may start as a having a zero score and in time become
perfect at it by practice, discarding that which is not correct and
getting better in every interaction.

The first two actions on the Noble Eightfold path talks to
gaining wisdom and are the right view and the right
intention.

Right view

The first idea is that you need to have a clear understanding of what
is happening around you to really pick up on a new way of doing things.
Do you have a clear view of the big picture of the organisation and what
your role is in achieving that? Have a right view means taking what is
happening to you in perspective and makes you aware of the world around
you. By having the right information we can make better decisions, by
having a clear view of why we are here – we can start transforming the
world around us.

Right intention

If you set out to achieve great things you tend to achieve great
things. If you set out to harm others – you harm yourself and others.
Your actions amplify themselves. Not knowing what your intention is –
makes you vulnerable to living the dreams of others, while trying to
find your own genuine purpose.

Having the right intention is a very difficult task, as you need to
constantly evaluate your actions against your intention. Having the
right view helps for you to decide what you need to get rid of and what
will take you closer to your goals.

Also called the right resolve – the right intention is a measure of
how well you achieve what you set out to achieve.

In business we often see people that go out to only make money. They
often fail. Having the intention to make a positive change in your
customers lives changes the whole dynamic and teaches you that every
action you take impacts the lives of others. Doing it well is genuine
and makes a better being of you and your customers.

If we all realise that employees in the workplace often genuinely
want to contribute to the purpose of the company – we can start
transforming our relationships towards the right intention.

The next three paths outline some of the skills that we need
to succeed and are called right speech, right action and right
livelihood.

Right speech

To speak correctly is an art. The Noble path recommends that you
abstain from lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, from idle speaking
and unnecessary chatter. This sounds like the world will become quiet
for a while if we do this…

It is also important to improve your ability to express yourself
verbally and in writing and to present quality ideas that are well
structured. How many times do we open ourselves up to ridicule and
dismissal of ideas by poor presentation or make simple errors that makes
people discredit our work.

Many business people that are successful will tell you that the only
measure of yourself or another person is their integrity. Saying what
you do and doing what you say is a skill that is needed to shape better
relationships with other and to achieve meaningful results that are
valued by yourself and others.

Right action

You should at least make sure that you do not do harm to others in
your actions. This does not mean to be meek and without will – you need
to ensure that your actions have the necessary effect to strengthen the
organisation in the right direction, without unnecessarily harming
others. Too many times organisations engage in power struggles, fights
and senseless work that harm and do not strengthen. These power battles
serve a few and do not bring the organisation or its participants closer
to its goals. We also often shift the blame or the problem without
dealing with the real issue. This is also not right action.

The second idea is that if you do nothing – then nothing gets done.
Without acting – there is no action. No action is often the wrong
action. If you can answer the question “What happens if we do nothing?”
with a clear conscience then you know that you may be onto a potential
solution.

Great plans, great organisations and great people fail when we do
nothing.

Right livelihood

The idea in right livelihood is that you must choose a profession in
which you are comfortable with. Are you shaping your daily work with a
view towards what is being achieved here? Research shows that people
that can connect their life purpose (dharma) with their daily actions
have a higher purpose and typically work harder, achieve more and
succeed.

If you are in an industry where you do not feel that you contribute
and cannot see how your actions are shaping your future and the future
of others then you need to start thinking about how to do things
differently. We all have a role to play in society and the best way to
get closer to making your unique contribution is to be in a place where
you feel that you are doing something that you identify with.

Not everything is about glitz, glamour or fame – someone needs to
pick up the trash and do the hard work. Make sure that you understand
your role in society and that you do whatever you do well.

The last three disciplines all deal with concentration and is
right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

Right effort

If you start measuring your return on effort – you start looking at
ways in which the work that you are doing is affecting others. By being
persistent and focused on achieving what you set out to do you realise
that it is unnecessary to waste energy on unnecessary pursuits that do
not add to your end goals.

Right mindfulness

Giving the right attention, remembering what is important and staying
focused is all part of right mindfulness. Eliminate things that do not
contribute to you being in the right frame of mind and get on improving
yourself through studying and broadening your horizons to get to the
next level of thinking.

Right concentration

By keeping your goals in mind and remaining focused on them – you can
achieve anything. All of the other disciplines all contribute to this
view. By keeping this and the other paths as your main focus the idea is
that you gain knowledge and freedom.

The Buddha taught these principles more than 2500 years ago but we
can still find inspiration in our every day work and in our every day
actions from this framework. We live in a world where daily new
solutions are required to more complex problems than ever before and
only in each one of our finding our purpose on this world, can we start
to do the work that will be necessary to make a different tomorrow.